Attacks killed 800 Iraqis in August: U.N.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - About 800 Iraqis were killed in August, the United Nations said on Sunday, condemning a wave of violence in the country that has reached levels not seen since 2008.

Most of the 804 killed were civilians, targeted in shootings and bombings mainly claimed by the Iraqi wing of al Qaeda. More than 2,000 people were wounded, the U.N. figures showed.

The number of people who were killed last month was however lower than in July, when the U.N. reported that there were 1,057 victims, the highly monthly toll since 2008. Violence in Iraq was at its height in 2006-2007 when the number of people killed per month sometimes exceeded 3,000.

Nearly 5,000 civilians have been killed and 12,000 wounded since the beginning of 2013, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) said in a statement.

In August, Baghdad was once again the most affected governate, accounting for more than a third of those killed nationwide, the U.N. said.

Since 2008 violence has decreased and a rise in oil revenues has helped to boost the economy. But eighteen months since U.S. troop withdrew, bombing campaigns have increased.

Insurgents have been invigorated by the sectarian conflict in neighboring Syria and have profited from rising political tensions in Iraq.